Help! Issue with energy company

amy.williams89

Hi Everyone!

I'm looking for some help, September 2015 two friends and I moved into a two bed terraced house in Cardiff. My housemate had the task of setting up the energy bills and decided to go through a company called Split the Bills- advertised as a hassle free, cost effective way for house sharing and students to split the cost of their household energy.
She signed us up, first off we were told we would be charged from July 2015 (eventhough we didn't move in until September 5th) I contested this, and they finally only charged us from the September. Each of us paid £64pcm for gas, water and electricity- I questioned this at the time and was told it was due to them over estimating our usage to ensure no high bills at the end of our tenancy. We were asked to supply meter readings December and July, which I did promptly.
Our gas readings in December were 6439 and the end of June 6686 and our electricity reading in December was 65133 and June 63742.
When I've looked online and estimated if we used the same usage over 12 months (we only lived there for 10months) comparison sites show we should have paid £43.19pcm per person for our energy/water and their admin fees which was £145.83 over the 10months- £20 more per month than we were paying.
We moved out, as mentioned earlier, at the end of June 2016 we were told we'd receive our final statement within a couple of weeks- which we though meant a refund. We heard nothing from the company until January 24th 2017, where the three of us were each emailed and billed a further £109.22 each! From working out our energy usage and costs that is around £600 in total (including the £64pcm already paid) over what it seems it should have cost us!
I contacted Split the Bills, who advised their supplier, Sparks, and them decided our estimated meter reading in September, without just asking us for a meter reading (I know, we should have taken one but we haven't and the tenancy agents don't have one either for this period) I queried the fairness of this, when Split the Bills then stated Sparks visited our property September 14th and took an actual reading, I queried this too- as none of us let them in or gave permission, Split the Bills advised they didn't need permission, but our meter box was in a cupboard in the living room under some shelves, I checked with our letting agent who stated they did not provide keys or permission for a third party to enter- so isn't this breaking and entering, if they did enter our property?
I said I wanted to raise a complaint and dispute this, Split the Bills said we could- but they won't change their prices (we still have no idea what tariff we were on and why it is so high!) I said about going to Ofgem and the Ombaudsman, when Split the Bills advised they aren't regulated so we have no rights and can't seek third party help.
They want to charge us over £327 for the 3 of us next week- which we can't afford and don't think we should pay, but we have no idea what rights we would have? If we don't pay they charge daily 3% over whatever HSBC's loan rate is and we don't want to end up paying hundreds more to end this nightmare in the long run, or end up damaging our credit ratings.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated (Sorry for the long post)

poppellerant

I can't help, but next time check companies out.
Split The Bills Reviews on Trust Pilot

footyguy

amy.williams89 wrote: »

Hi Everyone!

I'm looking for some help, September 2015 two friends and I moved into a two bed terraced house in Cardiff. My housemate had the task of setting up the energy bills and decided to go through a company called Split the Bills- advertised as a hassle free, cost effective way for house sharing and students to split the cost of their household energy.
She signed us up, first off we were told we would be charged from July 2015 (eventhough we didn't move in until September 5th) I contested this, and they finally only charged us from the September. Each of us paid £64pcm for gas, water and electricity- I questioned this at the time and was told it was due to them over estimating our usage to ensure no high bills at the end of our tenancy. We were asked to supply meter readings December and July, which I did promptly.
Our gas readings in December were 6439 and the end of June 6686 and our electricity reading in December was 65133 and June 63742.
When I've looked online and estimated if we used the same usage over 12 months (we only lived there for 10months) comparison sites show we should have paid £43.19pcm per person for our energy/water and their admin fees which was £145.83 over the 10months- £20 more per month than we were paying.
We moved out, as mentioned earlier, at the end of June 2016 we were told we'd receive our final statement within a couple of weeks- which we though meant a refund. We heard nothing from the company until January 24th 2017, where the three of us were each emailed and billed a further £109.22 each! From working out our energy usage and costs that is around £600 in total (including the £64pcm already paid) over what it seems it should have cost us!
I contacted Split the Bills, who advised their supplier, Sparks, and them decided our estimated meter reading in September, without just asking us for a meter reading (I know, we should have taken one but we haven't and the tenancy agents don't have one either for this period) I queried the fairness of this, when Split the Bills then stated Sparks visited our property September 14th and took an actual reading, I queried this too- as none of us let them in or gave permission, Split the Bills advised they didn't need permission, but our meter box was in a cupboard in the living room under some shelves, I checked with our letting agent who stated they did not provide keys or permission for a third party to enter- so isn't this breaking and entering, if they did enter our property?
I said I wanted to raise a complaint and dispute this, Split the Bills said we could- but they won't change their prices (we still have no idea what tariff we were on and why it is so high!) I said about going to Ofgem and the Ombaudsman, when Split the Bills advised they aren't regulated so we have no rights and can't seek third party help.
They want to charge us over £327 for the 3 of us next week- which we can't afford and don't think we should pay, but we have no idea what rights we would have? If we don't pay they charge daily 3% over whatever HSBC's loan rate is and we don't want to end up paying hundreds more to end this nightmare in the long run, or end up damaging our credit ratings.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated (Sorry for the long post)

Didn't really read all the post, but I guess the first advice you probably already know know is don't bother with sites like split the bills. (they only cost you money for something you could easily do yourself ... and if you did it yourself, I'm sure you could have saved even more money by consulting a comparison site and choosing the best deal for you ... and pocketing a good share of any kickback that is paid for switching supplier)

Sadly, as you also found out, the business you opted to use don't come under the ombudsman scheme.

So if you have any issues you cannot otherwise resolve with them, then court action is your only option.

I suggest you refer to the terms of the contract you entered into. Seek independent legal advice if appropriate and necessary. This site is not the place to seek such legal advice.


If it's simply a debt you are struggling to pay, then try the Debt Free Wannabe board here.